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On October 26th and 27th, Abel Cine Tech and The Mill teamed up in “The Awesome Showcase!” at the Boards Summit.

Boards, which started out as a trade magazine for the advertising industry has evolved into a brand focused on bringing the international commercial production industry community together for dialogue, debate and discussion about the global business of commercial production.

“The Awesome Showcase” was a designated area at the Grand Hyatt New York, which showcased new and “awesome” technology. On display were the Phanton HD Gold, RedOne, and the new and exciting HDSLR cameras. The Canon 7D, with the Arri Accessories and the Panasonic Lumix GH-1 with Hot Rod PL adaptor and Ultra Prime lens proved to be hits with the crowd.  It was interesting to hear from top level creative directors how the HDSLR cameras are now part of their plan for their high profile clients.

A complaint often expressed by Sony EX1/EX3 owners is the infrared or far red contamination frequently seen on dark fabrics. Sony’s EXMOR sensors are designed to see a huge amount of color, or what Sony calls “broad spectrum colors.” This is a great thing, because these Sony cameras can capture more color than ever in a digital image. The negative effect of this, however, is that they’re also able to see some red colors that our eyes cannot see. This shows up particularly in dark fabrics, where the red contamination turns greens into muddy brown and some blacks will turn magenta…not a good thing. Up until now there was not much you could do about it, but thankfully Tiffen came up with a solution. They have created the T1 IR filter, which is designed to reduce this contamination but still maintain the wide range of colors. I’ve done some tests to compare an EX1 camera with and without the filter, and the difference is quite obvious. In short if you are an EX1 or EX3 owner, the T1 IR Filter is a must have. Keep reading to see comparisons and how the new EX1R and PMW-350 perform.

…continue reading Tiffen T1 Far Red Filter & the Sony EX Cameras

There have been a few updates this month to some of our newest products. Nexto has improved their Video Storage Pro (NVS2500) with several updates. The first is support for MOV wrapped MPEG2 files, so files made in the JVC HM700/100 and from the Convergent Design devices (nanoFlash) can be previewed. They have also fixed some bugs and improved compatibility with USB drives. Download the firmware and read about all the updates here – NVS2500 Firmware 1.06.

AJA has also been working on adding function to their Ki Pro portable recorder. The latest firmware adds an ARM recording option that will allow users to have the device start recording on timecode start. This is an important improvement for anyone wanting to slave the Ki Pro to their camera. Additionally they have made several improvements to stability and user interface. You can download the firmware and read about future updates here – Ki Pro Firmware 1.01.

Now you can watch all of Abel’s videos on the Tube – YouTube, that is.

Along with our dedicated Vimeo channel, Abel is offering another convenient and high quality way to view our HD videos. Both channels offer instructional how-to’s, previews of new products, and of course our popular “At The Bench” series.

Check us out at youtube.com/abelcinetech and be sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an update!

The recent v.675 release of the Phantom software from Vision Research modifies how the white balance is stored in the raw cine files. This rendered the files created with this version incompatible with all the existing third party products that read the Phantom files.

Fortunately, developers have been quick to update their tools. Version 2.0.12 of the GlueTools Phantom Cine toolkit now supports the new white balance system, and I just got word that Iridas has implemented support as well, and that updated builds of their products should be available soon.

So, if you’ve downloaded files with the latest Phantom software and you see images that look like this:

instead of this:

you know you need to update your post software.

Today Sony announced two new XDCAM EX cameras. The first is a new version of the EX1 camera called the PMW-EX1R. The R stands for revised, and that’s exactly what it is. It has the same sensor and functions as the EX1, but with several improvements including SD recording, HDMI output, and revised buttons and switches. Sony has taken user feedback to heart, and the EX1R is proof of that.

The really big news though is the 2/3″ PMW-350. That’s right – it’s a 2/3″ EX camera. The sensor block has three 2/3″ Exmor CMOS sensors with F12 sensitivity. It is a full-sized shoulder-mounted camera with all the outputs and inputs you’d expect, including TC in/out, Genlock, HD-SDI, and even HDMI. The camera records to two SxS cards in all the same formats as the EX3, which also includes variable frame rates. The codec options are also the same but now will also include a SD recording mode. It comes equipped with a new full color LCD viewfinder, and it will also accept other Sony B&W viewfinders. What makes this package even more exciting is that it comes with a 2/3″ 16x Fujinon lens. The lens is a standard 2/3″ lens, which uses the B4 style lens mount. The camera will except any 2/3″ lens, but the fact that it comes with one is really fantastic. The camera body, VF and lens has a MSRP of $22,000, or it is available without a lens for $20,500. This is very big news, and will no doubt change the 2/3″ video camera market. Look for the camera to be released in January 2010.

…continue reading Sony’s New XDCAM EX Cameras

Canon has announced the 1D Mark IV, a 16 megapixel, APS-H sensor camera (vs. APS-C in the 7D and full frame in the 5D Mk II) capable of shooting 1080P video at 24, 25 or 30 fps, as well as 720P at 50 or 60 fps. It’s got some pretty nice still specs as well, of course. As usual, Vincent Laforet has made a short movie with it already, Nocturne. Can a full frame 1Ds Mark IV be far behind?

In other news, the word on the street is that Canon will be releasing a firmware update in 2010 adding 24P and 25P video capabilities to the 5D Mark II. Good news for early adopters.